1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of automotive safety, and more particularly to an infant viewing auto mirror device which permits the driver of a vehicle to observe the position and condition on an infant occupant on the rear seat of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current governmental regulations require that an infant traveling in a vehicle be secured in a car safety seat that is itself fastened to the rear seat of the vehicle through the use of the vehicle's seatbelt. It has become a common practice as a result of the recommendations of child safety advocates to position the car safety seat such that the infant faces the rear of the vehicle. Indeed, many child protection groups have stated that this form of travel is recommended for babies up to twelve months of age and/or twenty pounds in weight, whichever comes first.
Most infant safety seats as currently known in the art include a high back or are constructed with side panels that often obstruct any view of the infant when the infant is in the safety seat facing rearward. Thus, in many instances, the infant is not readily visible to the driver of the vehicle or to the occupant of the vehicle adjacent to the driver. Since the position and condition of the infant is not observable by occupants of the front seats, the infant's needs and condition are not readily discernable. As a result, when the driver or passenger in the front seats of the vehicle wishes to or needs to observe or check on the condition of the infant in the safety seat, the driver or passenger must turn his/her body and lean back over the front seat. This procedure is not only inconvenient, but dangerous should the driver be the one attempting to observe the infant since the driver will be forced to take his/her eyes off the road. Although the driver or passenger in the front seats may attempt to use either the rear view mirror or the visor mirror to observe the infant so positioned on the rear seat, such practice is awkward and not well suited to providing a clear view of the infant. If the driver is alone, the driver is often put into the position of having to stop the vehicle and perhaps even get out of the same in order to check on the infant. This practice is also inconvenient at best, and dangerous at worst if there is no safe roadside location to which the driver may safely drive the vehicle.
In recognition of the foregoing, various prior art devices have been developed in attempt to provide a modality by which a rearwardly facing infant may be viewed or observed in a car safety seat. Such devices are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,572 to Cossey; U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,892 to Masucci; U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,956 to Erickson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,118 to Harris; U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,618 to Gardner; U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,347 to Lumbra et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,321 to Nolan-Brown; U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,898 to Rubin; U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,455 to Sorenson; U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,155 to Brennan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,810 to Mercado; U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,708 to Monahan et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,364 to Kane.
Though the devices disclosed in the above-identified patents address the need for viewing a rearwardly facing infant in a car safety seat, these devices possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility. These deficiencies include, among other things, insufficiencies in the size of the reflective surface of the device, and inferior mounting systems which make the attachment of the device to the vehicle seat in the proper orientation a time consuming, cumbersome process. The present invention addresses these and other deficiencies of the prior art viewing devices by providing an infant viewing auto mirror which is configured for quick and easy attachment to an existing rear vehicle seat and is further configured to provide an optimal viewing angle to the infant within the car seat. These, as well as other advantages attendant to the present invention will be discussed in more detail below.